Improving Strength of Glulam Laminations of Norway Spruce Side Boards by Removal of Weak Sections Using Optimized Finger Jointing

Abstract

Recent research has shown that glulam laminations of Norway spruce side boards possess excellent structural properties. This investigation concerns the possibility of improving the performance of such laminations through elimination of weak board sections by means of finger jointing. Sections to be removed were identified using profiles of edgewise bending stiffness determined on the basis of scanned fibre angle fields on board surfaces. The difference in average tension strength and average tension stiffness, respectively, between a group of finger jointed boards and a reference group of non-jointed boards was evaluated. Joints were inserted in the first group with an average distance of 2.4 m. It was found that the finger jointing gave a considerable increase of strength (36 %), whereas the stiffness improvement was not as evident. Based upon the results, it can be assumed that application of finger jointed side board laminations will result in glulam beams with very high strength. © RILEM 2014.